- Thread Starter
- #2
My model number of my headunit is Sony CDX-CA400.
the only thing that bothers me is that i have my amp set to have vocals as well as the bass. its sounds decent until i reach a certain level. then its pounding bass over the vocals which sort of ruins it for me. the mids/highs can only get so loud with my headunit until the 12s exceed. i want to know how i can change this. to keep the pounding bass as well as the mids/highs to keep up and play loud enough to enjoy at the same time. i got the 12s in an enclosed box facing my hatch if that makes a difference in opinions.
//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/banghead.gif.8606515f668c74f6de0281deb475b6fd.gif
my advise, by a 4 channel amp and a good set of components for the front and amp them....head unit power is distorted and dirty power...
agreed :ready_to_
- Thread Starter
- #5
So keep the current amp i got for the 2 12", and by a seperate 2 channel amp for the front component speakers? is that correct?
about component speakers. those are the ones with the mids sperated from the highs as tweeters right? i don't know a great deal about components, i just know a ruff idea. another thing, how do i hook up both tweeters and the mids to a 2 channel amp? would the tweeters be directly connected to the factory wiring to my headunit and the mids to the amp?
by the way, thanks in advance for all the help
about component speakers. those are the ones with the mids sperated from the highs as tweeters right? i don't know a great deal about components, i just know a ruff idea. another thing, how do i hook up both tweeters and the mids to a 2 channel amp? would the tweeters be directly connected to the factory wiring to my headunit and the mids to the amp?
by the way, thanks in advance for all the help
- Thread Starter
- #6
when it comes to powering 2 amps. do i need to look into upgrading alternator, buying a cap, and/or upgrade the battery? how would someone what to change or upgrade if the demand for power to the amp is greater than what can be supplyed?
if you see ur headlights at night dim with the beat of the subs hitting, what should you look into? lol.
if you see ur headlights at night dim with the beat of the subs hitting, what should you look into? lol.
evilsaint
10+ year member
CarAudio.com Elite
Here's a cheap and easy (possible) solution too:
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=006234
Did only one of three so far on my car and it helped out.
http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=006234
Did only one of three so far on my car and it helped out.
If you are new in this hobby, you might not jump right into component speakers.
They do involve a bit more install consideration, which you might not know what those considerations are (you might install the tweets somewhere convenient, rather than somewhere sonically correct, negating much of their benefit.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif).
I'd recommend starting with a set of decent coaxials. Use your ears to select, don't look at prices, you might be surprised.. every time I've shopped for coaxials, I've come home leaving more expensive ones on the walls.
Power just these coaxials with an amp. You can get away with cheaper, by being a little smart about it, rather than going with a cheaper brand name -
You could buy a 2 channel amp, but you can get more bang for the buck by purchasing a smaller 4 channel amp and bridging it to 2 channels to get the same power.
The 2 channel amp would give you more headroom, but you won't need it or realize the benefit yet, and you'll essentially be wasting fully 1/2 the power you paid for.
A 25x4 amp can be bridged to 100x2, and will cost you significantly less than a 100x2 2 channel amp would cost you (because the 100x2 amp can be bridged to 400x1, it's a more powerful amp.. more power that won't be used).
You do want to purchase the largest amp that you can afford, really without regard for the power your coax's can handle. You can use the gain control to artificially throttle the amp back as far as power goes at any rate - and I'd recommend that, because if you purchase an amp that's too small, beginners tend to treat the gain control as purely a volume knob, and can end up clipping the amp, which can not only sound bad, but lead to a chain of events that could even damage your speakers.
It also buys you back lots of the headroom that you traded away by purchasing the 4 channel amp over the 2x $$$ 2 channel amp, when you run the gain control's setting "conservatively" like that.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif
Not to mention, you won't be needing to upgrade the amp, when you decide to upgrade the speakers down the road.
Rear fill is a touchy subject, particularly with beginner systems. I'd recommend leaving the rear speakers in, but only drive them by the head unit (whatever channels will allow you to fade them in and out). You want your rear speakers only to run at "barely audible" levels, from the front seat perspective.
When you do get more interested in further advancing your system's sound quality, I did write up a few words on why rear fill is bad news, for a true audiophile system:
http://www.betteraudio.com/geolemon/Phasing/Phasing.htm
But, in order to ditch the rears, you really want a truly solid front stage. Coaxials might even get you there, in some cases.
I think it'll be much more cost effective for you going this route, buying (and bridging) a smaller 4 channel amp, powering (for now) a set of nice sounding coaxials.
That'll be a much smaller investment, and IMO more appropriate equipment for a novice install, possibly even yielding better results than the more "advanced" gear.
Good luck!
They do involve a bit more install consideration, which you might not know what those considerations are (you might install the tweets somewhere convenient, rather than somewhere sonically correct, negating much of their benefit.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif).
I'd recommend starting with a set of decent coaxials. Use your ears to select, don't look at prices, you might be surprised.. every time I've shopped for coaxials, I've come home leaving more expensive ones on the walls.
Power just these coaxials with an amp. You can get away with cheaper, by being a little smart about it, rather than going with a cheaper brand name -
You could buy a 2 channel amp, but you can get more bang for the buck by purchasing a smaller 4 channel amp and bridging it to 2 channels to get the same power.
The 2 channel amp would give you more headroom, but you won't need it or realize the benefit yet, and you'll essentially be wasting fully 1/2 the power you paid for.
A 25x4 amp can be bridged to 100x2, and will cost you significantly less than a 100x2 2 channel amp would cost you (because the 100x2 amp can be bridged to 400x1, it's a more powerful amp.. more power that won't be used).
You do want to purchase the largest amp that you can afford, really without regard for the power your coax's can handle. You can use the gain control to artificially throttle the amp back as far as power goes at any rate - and I'd recommend that, because if you purchase an amp that's too small, beginners tend to treat the gain control as purely a volume knob, and can end up clipping the amp, which can not only sound bad, but lead to a chain of events that could even damage your speakers.
It also buys you back lots of the headroom that you traded away by purchasing the 4 channel amp over the 2x $$$ 2 channel amp, when you run the gain control's setting "conservatively" like that.. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif
Not to mention, you won't be needing to upgrade the amp, when you decide to upgrade the speakers down the road.
Rear fill is a touchy subject, particularly with beginner systems. I'd recommend leaving the rear speakers in, but only drive them by the head unit (whatever channels will allow you to fade them in and out). You want your rear speakers only to run at "barely audible" levels, from the front seat perspective.
When you do get more interested in further advancing your system's sound quality, I did write up a few words on why rear fill is bad news, for a true audiophile system:
http://www.betteraudio.com/geolemon/Phasing/Phasing.htm
But, in order to ditch the rears, you really want a truly solid front stage. Coaxials might even get you there, in some cases.
I think it'll be much more cost effective for you going this route, buying (and bridging) a smaller 4 channel amp, powering (for now) a set of nice sounding coaxials.
That'll be a much smaller investment, and IMO more appropriate equipment for a novice install, possibly even yielding better results than the more "advanced" gear.
Good luck!
- Thread Starter
- #9
anyone know of a website by a chance that gives a wide selection of coaxials that are 5.25in.? tried searching, i didn't turn up with much. all that i found the rms didn't seem high enough for it to be powered by an amp. ;(
Don't get crazy, of course... but don't sweat the powerhandling on the coax's too much.
You aren't going to be feeding these speakers "continuous power", for one thing... at least not at absolutely maximum volume.
The other (potentially more important) thing is that you probably won't usually be listening to these at maximum volume levels, so they won't be getting the full power from the amp most of the time.
Another consideration is that the speakers will likely hit their physical limits before thermal limits, so you'll hear them breaking up and distorting... that's when you know not to turn it up further..
And when you set the amp up, no matter how large it is, you can set the gain control conservatively low... which means you are guaranteeing yourself that your amp won't be clipping, and you also can limit the amount of power that is coming out of the amp, to match up better.
Another thing to do would be to look at your doors...
You might be able to fit 6.5" woofers in the doors rather than the 5.25's that came stock in the doors. If the 5.25's came in plastic housings, and you have clearance in front of the speakers (between the speakers and door panel, or speakers and their grilles), you might be able to cut a simple 6.5" diameter wooden (3/4" thick MDF maybe) ring and fit a 6.5" set in there.
The only benefit would be a bit more output and maybe a bit more midbass out of it though.. no doubt the easiest way out would be to just get a replacement 5.25" set, just an option. :tomatofac
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